Chapter Text
Chapter One
In the year 1994, from out of space came a runaway planet, hurtling between The Earth and The Moon, unleashing cosmic destruction. Man's civilization is cast in ruin. Two thousand years later, Earth is reborn. A strange new world rises from the old. A world of savagery, super science, and sorcery. Across this broken land ride three heroes, striving to free the opressed and the downtrodden from the rule of the evil tyrannical wizards. In the lead, riding a magnificent white stallion the colour of fresh fallen snow, rides a large golden haired warrior. His long blonde hair is the colour of wheat. He is big and muscular, far larger than your common peasant. The animal tooth necklace and brown furs that he wears mark him as a barbarian, born to live free. On his wrists he wears brown leather bracers, and attached to the left bracer is a golden sword hilt. The barbarian's name is Thundarr, a name which is quickly growing in legend and becoming a sound of dread to any wizard who hears it.
Following close behind Thundarr is a beautiful young woman riding a chestnut coloured mare with black mane and tail. The young woman is dressed in an blue and gold outfit that leaves very little to the imagination, what is remeniscent of the one piece swimsuits worn by people who swam for recreation and sport thousands of years ago. The suit itself is blue, with a gold trim about the waist. Yellow boots which go up to her knees and gold bracelettes on her wrists round out the outfit. Her skin is a dark olive colour, her hair as black as a ravens wing. Her almond shaped eyes hide an intelligence and wisdom which transends her years. She is Princess Ariel, a powerful sorceress. Years ago Thundarr was enslaved by her stepfather, the evil wizard Sabian. Disgusted by her stepfather's cruelty, Ariel freed all of his slaves and has been riding with Thundarr ever since. Thundarr is quick to act and stubborn as a rock, but he has found Ariel's magic and her vast knowledge of ancient Earth's history extremely valuable in their adventures.
Bringing up the rear on a large yellow reptilian mount called an equart is their companion, Ookla. Ookla is a mok, a race of large lionine humanoids which combine the traits of lions and men in much the same way the minotaurs of ancient Greek myth combined the traits of men and bulls. Moks are very large and very strong, far too large to ride horses, which is why Ookla rides an equart. Their size, strength, and fierce appearance make moks very formidable in battle, so very few people willingly attack a mok village. Unfortunately their size and strength also makes them ideal slaves. This is how he and Thundarr met, for he too was a slave to the wizard Sabian. During their escape, Thundarr had saved Ookla from certain death. Ookla has been a devoted friend and companion ever since, for it is mok custom to be forever indebted to any person who risks personal harm to save your life.
The three friends are riding through the swamplands that was once known as The Florida Everglades. There's an ancient Volks Wagon bus lying half burried in the dirt across their path. Thundarr jumps the obsticle with ease on his white stallion. Ariel jumps the ancient automobile with similar ease on her mare. Ookla jumps the vehicle on his equart, which lands on the obsticle and squashes it flat. It is the middle of summer, and the Florida weather is hot and humid. The sky is bright and clear, with the afternoon sun shining down upon them. The horses of Thundarr and Ariel are glistening with sweat, as are the riders themselves. The barbarian and the sorceress's hair are matted to their heads, and their clothes are soaked right through with sweat. The only ones not sweating are Ookla and his equart, but that doesn't mean they aren't suffering. Moks have no sweat glands, thus Ookla is panting heavily in an attempt to cool himself off. His mount is repltilian in nature, and neither pants nor sweats. However it can become dehydrated, which is a very real threat during this heatwave. Princess Ariel looks at the swampwater they're riding past almost longingly.
"If that water wasn't so muddy, I'd consider stopping for a swim," she says to Thundarr.
"That would be unwise," replies the barbarian, "There are worse things than mud and slime in these swampy waters."
"Such as?" Ariel asks.
"This is carock territory," explains Thundarr, "and there are all manner of man eating beasts and flesh eating plants in these swamps that are even less pleasant."
Ookla roars something in his native tongue, and Thundarr nods his head affermatively.
"Aye," says the barbarian, "if we don't find a fresh water source soon we might all die from this heat."
All of a sudden, Thundarr's horse stops dead in its tracks. It rears up and begins to nay and nicker nervously. Ariel and Ookla's mounts start behaving the same way. They all have to struggle tho get the animals under control.
"Easy, boy. Easy," says Thundarr to his horse as he tries to calm it, "What's the matter boy? Do you smell something?"
Ookla starts sniffing the air, trying to catch the scent of whatever had spooked their horses. He points to a copse of trees on the other side of a muddy body of water and growls. Thundarr nods his head and dismounts.
"Ookla says that whatever has the horses spooked is over there," says Thundarr, "Let's check it out."
"I thought it was unwise to go wading through these waters," says Ariel.
"It is," replies Thundarr, "But the horses will not budge until we find whatever has frightened them and deal with it."
Ookla and Ariel dismount as well. Ookla takes his composite bow and quiver of stun arrows from his equart's saddle.
"I don't feel like being a snack for leaches," says Ariel, and she conjures up a magical bridge to allow them to cross the swampy water. "Good thing I'm not just a pretty face. Right Thundarr?"
Thundarr starts walking across the bridge without even acknowledging her comment. She looks at Ookla, who simply shrugs his massive shoulders in reply before following. Ariel let's out a sigh and follows her companions. They enter the copse of trees and find a horrible discovery. Six humanoid creatures are strung up by their heels, like sheep in a butcher shop, skinned like animals. Princess Ariel covers her mouth and turns away, the grotesque sight just too much for her. Thundarr and Ookla take a closer look, to try and desypher any clues that the killers may have left behind.
"These are carocks," says Thundarr after examining the bodies, "Males by the look of it."
"What killed them?" Ariel asks.
"Not sure," replies the barbarian, "A bladed weapon by the looks of things. But it appears to have sliced cleanly right through the bones, without even causing them to splinter. I've never heard of anything that could do that, save for the Sunsword."
"Let me see," says Ariel, and she steels herself for what she was about to look upon.
She walks over to the bodies and examines their wounds. She finds Thundarr's conclusions to be very accurate.
"Whatever made these cuts was made of metal," she confirms, "The Sunsword, or even a similar weapon, doesn't truly cut in the strictest sense of the word. It descintigrates whatever touches it with extreme heat, so quickly that it seems to be cutting through its target. If used on a living creature, a being of flesh and blood, it would cauterize the wound. Burn the flesh, keeping it from bleeding. These poor souls bled out."
"It appears as though they were killed first, then skinned," adds Thundarr, "A small consolation, but at least they died quickly."
Ookla kneels down on the ground, inspecting the area, then he starts growling and howling out something in his native language and pointing into the bush.
"What is it?" Ariel asks, "What did he find?"
"A blood trail," translates Thundarr, "from that direction."
Thundarr grabs his Sunsword from its bracer and ignites the blade with a thought. Ookla nocks a stun arrow in his composite bow and half draws the bowstring, ready to shoot at a seconds notice. Ariel stands back, hands at the ready should her magic be needed. They follow the blood trail, which leads them to a clearing. As they aproach, Thundarr feels his foot catch on some kind of vine. Too late he realizes that it's a trip wire. He looks up just in time to see a heavy log with many sharpened branches swinging at him from the trees above where it was suspended by a pair of vines.
"Look out!" Shouts Thundarr as he cuts the log in two with his Sunsword.
Ariel and Ookla both dodge to the sides as the two halves of log swing past Thundarr and head straight for them. Ariel does an impressive acrobatic tumble, coming right back to her feet. Too late she realizes that she had just tumbled into another cleverly concealed tripwire. This time a heavy branch with sharpened stakes bound to it swings out horizontally from the bushes. She dives onto her belly just in the nick of time, as the deadly branch swings out over her back.
Ookla's landing is less graceful than Ariel's. He basically bellyflops onto the ground. He too sets off another trap. He sees a vine whipping up into the air as though it was being pulled up by something really large and powerful. The mok rolls over onto his back and sees a large, heavy log with one end whittled into a point coming straight for him. He rolls to the side just before the point of the log is driven deep into the ground.
The moment Thundarr had cut the deadfall in two, he dives ahead into a forward roll, coming up to his feet with Sunsword at the ready. He hears a loud 'snap' and a heavy net made of vines, set out on the ground, whips up about him and lifts him up into the air. Before the net could even stop swinging, the barbarian cuts himself free and then drops back down to the ground.
"What happened?" Ariel asks, "Were the carocks ambushed? Did they get caught in these traps?"
Thundarr studies the traps for a moment. "Nay," he says, "The carocks weren't caught in these traps. They're the ones who set them."
Thundarr and Ookla investigate the area further. They find the areas where the carocks were killed. In addition to the blood splatter from the mortal wounds, they also discover carock weapons that have been cut cleanly by a bladed weapon, much like the carocks themselves.
"They were waiting in ambush," says Thundarr, "There, there, and over there," he adds, pointing out the three different hiding spots. "I figure they were planning on waiting for their enemy to fall into their trap, then hit them from all sides once they were incapacitated. But whoever, or whatever their foe was, it managed to get through all of these traps and eliminate the carocks. It looks as though they didn't even put up much of a fight."
"Let me see their weapons," says Ariel.
Thundarr hands her the spear of one of the carocks. It was cut into three pieces. Two of the pieces are at least a couple of feet long, but the third is only about six inches long. And judging by the way the three pieces fit together, it appears as though the two cuts on the spear shaft were done simultaniously and perfectly parallel.
"I think this was cut by a double bladed weapon," she says to Thundarr, "One attack made both of these cuts. And it cut cleanly, just like the bones of the slain carocks. Just as you said."
"I may be a barbarian," says Thundarr, "but reading the signs left on the plain ground is one of the things I do best."
"Never have I thought otherwise, my friend," replies Ariel, "There are no better trackers than barbarians, and none more skilled than the mighty Thundarr."
"Your praise is in jest," says Thundarr.
"Only a little," replies Ariel, "but I am being sincere."
Ookla growls something and Thundarr laughs.
"Ookla is reminding you that he is the one who lead us here and found the bodies," says Thundarr.
"I'm sorry Ookla," says Ariel, "I meant that barbarians are the greatest human trackers, and Thundarr is exceptional even by their high standards. Moks are the best trackers out of all sentient humanoid species, and you are exceptional amongst your kind."
Ookla growls in satisfaction and folds his arms across his chest with pride.
Just then they hear a loud, anguished, almost primal scream coming from the bushes towards where the bodies were found. A moment later, several carocks armed with a variety of weapons ranging from heavy clubs to steel tipped spears come charging out of the brush.
"Murderous mok!" Cries one of them.
"Defiler!" Cries another.
"Filthy beast!"
Ookla takes up his composite bow and fires stun arrow after stun arrow, knocking out each carock he hits. Princess Ariel raises her hands and unleashes several blasts of magical energy, knocking out several of their attackers.
"Demon dogs!" Says Thundarr as he grabs his Sunsword from its bracer and ignites the blade. A carock attacks him with a pickaxe, which Thundarr cuts in two with a parry from his Sunsword, then retaliates by elbowing the carock in the temple, knocking him out. Another carock charges him with a spear leveled at his heart. He sidesteps the charge and cuts the spear in two, then knees the carock in the gut as he stumbles past, following up by cracking him on the back of the skull with the pommel of the Sunsword.
Most of the carocks rage seems focussed on Ookla, as most of their numbers are focussing their attacks on him. When the carocks get too close for Ookla to continue using his bow, he drops it in favour of going hand to hand. A carock tries to attack the mok with a cruelly edged battle axe. Ookla grabs the axe by the handle and throws the carock into a group of his buddies. Another carock tries to hit Ookla with a spiked club. Ookla grabs him by the wrist and throws him into a tree. A third carock tries to impale Ookla with his spear. The mok stops the reptilian humanoid cold by grabbing the spear by the shaft, then knocks him out with a headbutt.
Princess Ariel casts a spell on the net hanging up above their heads, animating it and sending it to tie up a group of carocks that are just getting back to their feet.
A very large and powerfully built carock comes at Thundarr with a very large and dangerous looking spiked club. Thundarr cuts the club in two with his Sunsword, then knocks him to the ground with a spin kick to the chest. He begins to get back up, but is stopped by the tip of the Sunsword being pointed at his heart.
"Go ahead!" Says the carock, "Do it! Skin me alive as you did my kinsmen!"
"Your anger is misplaced," says Thundarr, "We did not skin your fellow carocks. They were like that when we found them. We were merely trying to determine who or what did kill them."
"We know who killed them!" Shouts the carock, "You ride with one of them! The moks did this deed!"
Ookla howls in protest.
"No mok would ever disrespect an enemy like that!" Thundarr declairs.
"Liar!" Shouts the carock, "Mok lover! Our clan has been battling the moks for generations! Ever have our confrontations been violent, but it is they who have escalated to this level of cruelty!"
"But Ookla is not even from any of the local prides," says Ariel.
"It doesn't matter!" Replies the carock, "They're all the same!"
"'Tis your quarrel with the moks that doesn't matter," says Thundarr, "for the weapon that killed your kinsmen was not of mok design."
"You lie!"
"I do not," says Thundarr, "Moks prefer crushing weapons, such as clubs, or cleaving weapons like axes. Whatever killed your kinsmen used a bladed weapon, sharper than anything I've ever seen."
"Moks can use swords too!" Declairs the carock.
"If they did, we would know," replies Thundarr, "Ookla and I found no tracks other than those of your kin. Mok tracks are very distinct. There were none. Whatever killed your kin, they weren't moks."
"Liar!"
"Thundarr," says Ariel, "you're never going to convince him of our innocence, or the moks'. He said it himself that they've been at war with them for generations."
"So what should we do?"
Ariel casts a spell, binding the carock in bands of energy. "Let's leave them to attend to their fallen comrades," she says, "while we go to the mok village and see if we can find out what's going on."
Thundarr extinguishes his Sunsword and replaces it on its bracer. "Very well," he says, "To the horses!"
Ariel conjures another magical bridge to get them back to their mounts. As she's about to climb aboard her mare, she spots a movement up in the trees across the way. She stops and stares at it for a moment. The shape looks vaguely humanoid, but is all wavy, like looking through gas or vapour. But there doesn't appear to be any substance, like it's there yet it isn't. Ariel closes her eyes tight and vigorously shakes her head, then looks again. Whatever was there is gone now.
"What is it?" Thundarr asks her when he realizes she hasn't mounted her horse yet, "What's wrong?"
"I thought I saw something," she replies, "It must be the heat, making me see things."
"Come!" Says Thundarr, "We can find clean drinking water at the mok village and learn more of this conflict!"
Princess Ariel takes another uneasy look up into the trees. Whatever it was she saw, it was gone now. But she had this uneasy feeling that it was not just a trick of the heat. She mounts her horse and spurs it into a gallop.
"Ariel! Ookla! RIIIIDE!" Cries Thundarr as they continue on down the trail. Behind them, the shimmering translucent humanoid form leaps from the trees and lands on the trail and stands there watching them gallop away.